


Instant Ramen

by NB_Cecil



Series: Early Noughties Student Chulu AU [2]
Category: Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: AU, Cooking, Domestic Fluff, Early Noughties AU, Fluff, Food, Friendship, Gen, Hikaru Hates Maths, Modern AU, Pavel Can’t Cook, Ramen, Reciprocal Friendship, Student AU, Students
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:34:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27352066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NB_Cecil/pseuds/NB_Cecil
Summary: Pure maths student Pavel helps his biologist friend Hikaru with the statistics for a university project then has his mind blown when Hikaru adds a few garnishes to a kettle meal.
Relationships: Pavel Chekov & Hikaru Sulu
Series: Early Noughties Student Chulu AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1997455
Comments: 4
Kudos: 5





	Instant Ramen

Hikaru shut down the computer and leaned back in his chair. “Thanks for helping wrangle the stats, Pav,” he said.  
“No problem,” Pavel said. His was perched on the edge of the small desk. “I like statistics. Everything’s there already, y’know? You just have to put the numbers in the right order and you find the answers.”  
Hikaru made a noncommittal noise in the back of his throat. He did not share his friend’s love of statistics. Manipulating raw data always gave him a feeling of dread every time he got to that part of writing a report. He much preferred gathering the data in the lab to staring at rows of numbers on a computer screen and he really was grateful for Pavel’s help. “You hungry?” He asked.  
“Ravenous!” They’d been working all afternoon and into the evening and—besides copious amounts of black coffee—hadn’t eaten anything since lunchtime.  
Hikaru got up and went over the kitchenette on the other side of his tiny bedsit. He opened a cupboard. “Is ramen ok?”  
“Sure.”  
Hikaru put a couple of eggs on to boil, took a carrot from a bag on the countertop and set about cutting it into matchsticks.  
Pavel sauntered over and stood beside him. “You’re _making_ ramen?” He asked. “I thought you meant from a packet.”  
“Pfft,” Hikaru scoffed. “Hardly.”  
“But you’re cooking.” Pavel pointed at the pan on the hob.  
Hikaru set his knife down and gave Pavel a long look, trying to suss out if he was being serious. “It’s some eggs and a carrot. That’s hardly cooking. And packet ramen is a bit grim in its own.”  
“It never occurred to me to add anything to it,” said Pavel.  
“It never occurred to me not to, but then you call making toast ‘cooking.’”  
“It _is_ cooking!” Pavel protested.  
“Put the kettle on, would you?”  
Pavel filled the kettle at the small sink. 

“This is the best ramen I’ve ever seen,” Pavel said once the food was ready. He carried his bowl over to the bed and perched on the edge of the mattress.  
Hikaru joined him, clutching his own bowl and a bottle of soy sauce. “Please don’t spill it on my sheets,” he said.  
Pavel sipped his soup. Hikaru watched, interested to see his friend’s reaction to ‘the best’ ramen. “Well, how is it?” He asked.  
“It’s not just the best ramen I’ve seen. It’s the best ramen ever,” Pavel declared.  
Hikaru shook his head and tried a mouthful of his own soup. It lacked seasoning. “Here, try some soy sauce.” He handed the bottle over.  
Pavel poured soy sauce into his soup and tasted it again. “Even better! I didn’t think that was possible,” he exclaimed.  
Hikaru added a generous glug of soy sauce to his own food. “It’s just instant ramen with some carrot and boiled egg,” he said.  
“Yes, but you made it delicious.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed this version of Sulu and Chekov then there’s a longer and more slashy fic in progress here which you might want to check out: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27147631/chapters/66297073  
> (Please note, it’s explicit 18+)


End file.
